Whale Heading South For Winter Stops Near Ocean City To Show Off

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (CBS) --  People walking the boards out on the water were surprised to find some unexpected visitors who didn't mind putting on a show.

Off the coast of Ocean City, one fisherman got quite the bump... from a humpback whale long enough to reach his boat.

"The whale was out there all day. At one point, next thing you know, right under this guy's boat," fisherman Jim Stenella told Eyewitness News.

Jim Stenella shot this video Monday morning, about a mile from shore fishing for stripers when he saw the whale getting a little to close to another boat.

"It seems like whale knew were boats were there, putting on a show for people," he said.

The whale was captured by another bass fisher breaching just a short distance from the beach.

"When the whales show up they take center stage. Everyone enjoys seeing them eating and breaching," he said.

Captain Joe Hughes charters fishing trips from AC to Cape May.

He's sees humpbacks every year around this time but says this year, they've been closer to shore.

They're feeding and preparing for the winter, following the bait into shallow water.

"Whales have been right along the beach to 2 or 3 miles. That's where they've been feeding," says Captain Joe Hughes.

This weekend he spotted several humpbacks on his charters, 20-30 feet long.

He says they swim around schools of fish and then move in to feed.

"They'll swim around it, that's when they'll stuck out of water eat. You'll see bunker and bait falling out of their mouths," Hughes said.

Oceans have been so calm over last couple of days, whales could been seen breaching about a mile from the shore.

Marine experts say it's just a matter of time before they continue on south for the winter.